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Chiaroscuro: Annihilation
Part 1 . 15th East Rukongai district. Night. It was a dark and stormy night. All civilian s had been hastily evacuated from the area, so the windows of their houses remained empty, black holes like eye sockets of a skull. Lanterns were the only source of light, barely capable of wrestling the scenery from the clutches of rain and darkness. Divisions Fifth, Ninth and Eleventh of the Gotei 13 patrolled the entire district in full force, separated into numerous large squads of anxious troops. Each unit, consisting of 30 Soul Reapers, remained in incessant eye contact wih at least one other, and could be clearly heard by several more. Meanwhile, the top officers stationed themselves on the biggest local square. From there they were ordering their subordinates and waiting for the unidentified aggressor to show up. The shower of cold water was helping them stay vigilant. "I hate rain", complained Captain Fudo Shōdo, breaking a long period of silence between the nearby officers. "Abundant precipitation typical this time of year", remarked Captain Takeo Danko with something that resembled fatigue. Shōdo sighed and turned his head. Once again he glanced at the solitary figure standing a short distance away. Captain-Commander . The bad news delivered by Lieutenant Norio Nishimura had visibly perturbed him. And the longest-serving Captains as well. Fudo himself thought he had heard something about "Lord Bane" in the distant past, but was not sure. Be that as it may, apparently the idea of him coming back was bad enough to prompt the Captain-Commander himself to come with the three Divisions to "greet" him. Meanwhile, over near one of the abandoned houses, a group consisting of the 11th Division was walking by lazily, obviously more relaxed than the others, most were grumbling to themselves and their friends, not really caring about the dire situation they were in. "I can't wait till them bastards arrive, I'm gonna gut em.", shouted one of the more eager 11th Division troops, his comment caused a rather large uproar in the group. "Yeah, we'll show him the Gotei 13's finest!" "I wanna taste their blood!" "It's my lucky day!" "Shut it!", shouted Hatsuharu Yamashita, he was bringing up the front of the group along with 3rd Seat Akihiko Kuroki, the Lieutenant was shivering due to the weather and he was wearing a face of annoyance due to his squad. "Gotta admire their spirit eh Yamashita.", Akihiko said, "I wanna kill em also, sounds like fun.", he continued on, the vigor in his voice caused Hatsuharu to turn around. "Maybe so, but while the prospect of fighting these guys might be exciting, one of them killed one of Danko's men, so I don't think these guys can be fucked around with.", Hatsuharu explained, his grim voice caused Akihiko to recoil slightly. "Come on senpai, you fought that Vasto Lorde ages ago didn't yeh, we can take these guys easy.", Akihiko argued, Hatsuharu merely sighed. "Lets get going.", he said calmly, the still rather rowdy 11th Division followed suit. Back in the square, the 11th Division Captain was sharing his Lieutenant cynicism of the situation. "I wish these bastards would show up so I could kill them.", he moaned, yawning deeply, he looked around the area, as if he was trying to find one of them hiding. "Chances of the enemy directly attacking us are low.", Danko stated, his comment caused the other Captains to grumble slightly. "I agree, the faster these guys show up the faster we can deal with them.", Shōdo remarked, "It's obvious that they're not scared of us, so what keeps them from waiting.", he asked. The mood was set in a permanent state of boredom and anxiety, the patrol groups kept searching the same areas to no avail, making their tasks even more tedious, while certain members of the groups were panicking, stirring up hysteria in some places. The low mood of the Shinigami was emanating from the town like a horrible, dense fog. Time was passing, second after second, minute after minute, each one as long as eternity. Suddenly, there was a strong gust of deathly cold wind. Fudo grabbed his exposed forearms and trembled. "Did you feel that?" Before he uttered the last word of his question, the heavy rain stopped within an instant. The Fifth Division Captain looked at the dark night sky, quite surprised. Danko casually put his palm on the hilt of his Zanpakutō. "Somehow, I've got a bad feeling about this", said Shōdo. "Incoming hostiles", warned Takeo and swiftly unsheathed his sword. "Finally", said Kūfuku with a shrug. All of a sudden a thick swirl of smoke-like darkness entered the large square from one of the alleys, stirring a commotion amongst the ranks of Soul Reapers. It moved fast toward the Captain-Commander and halted abruptly a moderate distance away, amassing into a single cloud. Then, six shadowy figures emerged from the darkness as it dispersed into nothingness. All of them, while of various height and stature, wore similar black cloaks and white masks which obscured their faces. " ", stated the Captain-Commander in a severe tone. The accompanying officers drew their weapons and turned to face the intruders. Numerous calls could be heard from various places in the area, and the Shinigami troopers followed their superiors' example. In the meantime, one of the cloaked figures took a step forward and bowed formally before the Shinigami leader. "Captain-Commander Yamamoto", began the dark being with an unpleasantly shrill voice. "We come to announce the arrival of our fearsome leader, Lord Bane." "You murder innocents, threaten us and then kill our own men", added Yamamoto. "I have only one thing to say to you." Ere anyone else could react, he drew his Zanpakutō and made a broad sweeping motion. Tempestuous flames erupted from its blade rapidly and engulfed all of the shadowy beings. All Shinigami observed as the mysterious messengers perished immediately in the fiery storm. "Ouch", remarked Captain Shōdo. Bodies of the dark figures sizzled audibly in their improptu pyre. Then, the fire was unexpectedly dispersed, as if struck by a shockwave. Four tall beings materialised among its scattered flames, and together with them their distinct presence. Rather than the usual crushing and suffocating feeling emanated by beings of immense spiritual power, it seemed as if the four individuals stood in the centre of a black hole, a cold, sucking-in warp in reality. The Soul Reapers hurriedly assumed combat-ready stances. "Hey, Grandpaaa!", exclaimed the intruder in a dark grey cloak in a sarcastically cheerful tone, waving his hand. "You!", bellowed the Captain-Commander in response, widening his eyes. Subsequently, a quickly increasing number of shouts could be heard from all around the district. The scattered Shinigami uttered screams of surprise and warned others as plentiful cloaked beings started emerging from the darkness of night and dropping on walls and roofs of the houses. Many of them. "Shigekuni Yamamoto", said gravely the tall man in black cloak. "Zetsubō Usuguraiboshi", replied the Captain-Commander in the same tone. "The time to resume the Black Autumn has come. The day of reckoning", continued the individual named Usuguraiboshi as he walked slowly toward his interlocutor. "I do not know how did you escape from Hell, but I will send all of you back there at once", retorted Yamamoto as he too started to close the distance between him and Zetsubō. "Not this time." Then, he swiftly drew an ebony black nodachi from between the folds of his black cloak and pointed it to the side. Its blade glowed crimson and bent violently, transforming into a large, spiky scythe. "Bankai, Zanka no Tachi", declared Yamamoto solemnly. His fiery aura and the flames enveloping his Zanpakutō disappeared, and the blade became scorched. His Reiatsu skyrocketed. Zetsubō did not respond, at least verbally. He was suddenly surrounded by tempestuous darkness which burst forth toward his incoming opponent. It immersed both of them utterly like a storm cloud, and then diffused into the air, leaving no trace of the two men. A period of complete silence followed. "Take your pick!", announced the Togabito in dark grey cloak merrily. He grabbed the clothing and cast it aside, revealing his well-built physique clad in something that heavily resembled a normal Shihakushō. There was a katana in the sheath on his hip. He had spiky and wild dark red hair, but a white mask concealed his face. Then, he took it off as well. "Tōru Yōshanai, formerly Lieutenant of the Third Division, better known as "the Conflagration"", he introduced himself, grinning ominously. The right side of his face was that of a young Asian man, its features vaguely similar to someone every single Shinigami knew well. However, the other side must have been severely wounded in the past, disturbingly disfigured by fire, and his ear melded into the scar tissue. His dark grey eyes glowed with barely contained, inner madness. Danko, whom the man seemed to address directly, grimaced menacingly. He knew from the description of his Lieutenant who was responsible for the death of his 3rd Seat. "Ninth Division Captain, Takeo Danko", he stated with a tense voice as he held his wakizashi in reverse grip. "Retaliation imminent." Yōshanai raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Ah, Ninth Division! You must be the superior of those two guys I destroyed earlier today", he said with a wide smile. "Go ahead then, avenge them!" When Takeo assumed a fighting stance the Togabito plunged at him without a warning, and a loud clang followed quickly. Their Zanpakutō clashed in a shower of sparks, and the two struggled to push back their opponent. Subsequently, Tōru retreated his sword and unleashed a wild flurry of strikes. Danko blocked all of the attacks and then ducked under a broad horizontal slash. He sallied, the tip of his wakizashi directed at the heart of the enemy. There was a faint sound; Yōshanai dodged the strike with the use of Shunpo. He bared his teeth. "Hell yes, that's what I'm talking about!", he exclaimed almost hysterically and charged again. Seeing their fight, the numerous Togabito perched on the walls and rooftops descened upon the Shinigami below. First screams and clutter of steel could be heard; the battle began. Meanwhile, the taller man in white cloak shook his head, visibly despite the hood. "Youngsters", he sighed and turned to glance at Shōdo, drawing his attention. "Well, I suppose it is my turn for introduction." Then, he removed the hood and took off the mask, which he then strapped to his belt. He was a bald, middle-aged man with piercing, pale blue eyes and equally pale skin. He had bushy, thick eyebrows and a wild, untrimmed beard of dark brown colour. "I am Anders Schäfer, once a , now a Damned One allied with the man known as Lord Bane", he said with a formal, if shallow bow. "I shall be your opponent." "A Quincy, eh? Didn't expect that", replied Fudo as he slowly approached the Sinner. "I'm Fudo Shōdo, Captain of the Fifth Division." The last of the apparent leaders of the Togabito, an unnervingly tall woman in a dark purple cloak, walked unhurriedly toward the Kenpachi, who until then had observed the recent events with indifference. "You're mine, little man", she uttered threateningly as she lifted her hands. "I remember you. You were ." She then tore off the cloak, revealing her buxom, yet grossly oversized silhouette wearing some tattered rags of a robe. She resembled someone familiar to the Eleventh Division Captain, but her purple hair were more wild, her unmatching eyes more sinister, her teeth sharp as canines of a carnivore and the remnants of her mask larger and more... daemonic. "Tinieblas", she grumbled. Afterward, she lifted her right hand and opened the palm. Four streaks of darkness emerged from behind her and accumulated between her outstretched fingers, swiftly forming an entirely black nodachi. "Prepare to die", she added. Part 2 The battlefield exploded with a dense and suffocating compound Reiatsu emanating from the three Captains and the three Togabito generals. Its power was enough to wipe out the weakest members of each side. The high ranked officers shivered at the Reiatsu they were enveloped in. Kenpachi was blasted back by the brute force that was Tinieblas' attack, he managed to regain himself just in time, landing on the floor on one knee, he slid back a fair few metres before he came to a halt. "Tch, this powerful already?", he mused, he had a grim look replacing his usual wide grin, "I remember this bitch being a good fight before but now...", he continued on, he stood up, gripping his Zanpakutō tight in his hand. "Bankai!", Kuufuku shouted, his sword transformed into a large polearm weapon. He charged toward Tineblas, who remained stationary. The two clashed, their swords creating shockwaves. Kenpachi, having the power and momentum, managed to push the former Arrancar back a considerable distance. He made a slashing manoeuvre, making her slide a few more metres back, however, she had managed to withstand his onslaught without seemingly breaking a sweat. "That's all, Shinigami?", Tinieblas growled. Meanwhile, Shōdo was continuously dodging an incessant onslaught of Heilige Pfeile that his opponent kept firing. The number of arrows paired with the number of explosions they were creating below was making it hard for the Shinigami Captain, as he could not activate his Shikai nor use its ground oriented techniques. "Hado #4, !", a disembodied voice said from the cloud of arrows. Before he could react, Anders was hit squarely in the shoulder by a beam of electricity. The force of the attack stalled the Quincy for a moment, causing him to stop firing his arrows, as soon as he turned back he saw Shōdo bearing down upon him with his sizeable Shikai. "Ryūsei!", he bellowed, bringing his now flaming Zanpakutō down on his enemy, the resulting explosion causing both opponents to be engulfed in a flame-like Reiatsu. As the dust cleared, Fudo widened his eyes in shock as he saw Schäfer holding his Zanpakutō with his bare hand, the veins on his hand were flowing with Reishi and apart from his hand being heavily burnt, the Quincy sported no injuries. "Truly pitiful", Schäfer said with an air of boredom. Stunned with shock, Fudo acted with a slight delay as the Quincy took out a , swinging it towards the 5th Division Captain's face. Shōdo managed to dodge it barely, using Shunpo to retreat from the Quincy. Just as he regained his posture, he dodged Anders' Seele Schneider again, which was now flying towards him. He cursed to himself as he was once again, dodging another barrage of arrows heading his way. Tōru Yōshanai and Takeo Danko were in the middle of exchanging their blows of strength and precision, with the Togabito blocking the 9th Division Captain's one-hit-kill attacks while Danko was dodging the former 3rd Division Lieutenant's crushing blows. While the two seemed evenly matched, Danko began feeling the effects of their ever lasting fight. "What's wrong Captain-san!", Tōru jeered, "I thought you was going to revenge those two weaklings of yours.", he shouted manically, plunging at Takeo's face in a beast like fashion. "Anger equals a lack of concentration in battle.", panted Danko between the monstrous blows his opponent was delivering, "Lack of concentration in battle equals defeat.", he finished, Tōru merely tutted. "Let's see if your theory is correct then, Captain-san.", he said, a wide grin on his face. Streaks of sweat were flowing from the Security Force commander's forehead. However, they were not a result of fatigue; since the beginning of his duel with the insane Togabito, the temperature had been steadily rising. Actually, when he gazed upon Yōshanai's blade, he noticed it pulsated with a crimson glow and the air around was visibly undulating. "Oh dear, there's so much Reiatsu here that I can't hold it any longer!", said Tōru. "Well, the warm-up's over! Scorch the sky, Atatamaru!" Waves of heat enveloped the former Lieutenant whilst his Zanpakutō shone bright. Its blade broadened, and then an extremely hot bar morphed in its non-cutting edge's stead. A gust of skin-boiling wind struck Takeo, nearly throwing him out of balance. "Strike hard and fast, Genkaiten", he retorted by realising his own Shikai. Merely had his wakizashi transformed into a bladed tonfa, Yōshanai swiped with his own sword, unleashing a torrential gust of super-heated air. Ever vigilant, Danko evaded the abrupt attack with Shunpo and counter-struck. His opponent did not have time to evade the thrust and had to block it with the gleaming blade of his Zanpakutō. Although, the sheer force of the strike and the uncomfortable pose the Togabito had to assume were enough to lift him into the air and deflect several metres away. Nevertheless, he started to rotate in order to lose momentum, and utilised his spinning motion to fire another heatwave at the Ninth Division Captain. That time the latter combatant was too slow to react and as such was hit with full force, ending up knocked to the ground as a result. Meanwhile, Fudo Shōdo escaped another barrage of Heilige Pfeile and promptly counter attacked the relentless Quincy. "Kanzandan!" Surprised by the speed of the incoming block of smouldering rock, Anders narrowly evaded the ensuing explosion with the use of . "I do believe I have grasped the pattern of your evasive manoeuvres", he stated as he landed softly some distance away. "You have what?", asked Fudo, irritated. Schäfer lifted his right arm and aimed the ornate silver crossbow mounted on it at the Shinigami. "Heilig Blitz", he declared sternly. Then, a supercharged bolt of crackling energy burst forth toward Shōdo. Aware of what his enemy had been doing, he managed to dodge it, albeit with difficulty. With great haste he accumulated another lava projectile at the tip of his Zanpakutō, only to notice something was amiss right before firing it. The aquamarine bolt he thought he had escaped was now darting toward him from behind. "Shit..." His Kanzandan dispersed, he turned around and covered himself with his large warhammer just in time to intercept the incoming attack. Subsequently, the enhanced arrow blew up violently, briefly immersing the battlefield in its unnatural glow. Anders smirked ominously. "Hyaaah!" Kenpachi's enormous polearm smashed into Tinieblas' longsword in a shower of sparks. The giant woman was once again pushed back, constantly forced on the defensive by her chosen opponent's unrelenting onslaught. She attempted to counter with an abrupt stab, but Kūfuku pushed the ebony blade aside with the shaft of his Bankai and followed immediately with a kick to her chin. Tinieblas uttered an inarticulate sound and swayed backward. However, when Kenpachi's polearm descened upon her in a deadly horizontal slash, she retreated quickly thanks to . She then grinned as she fixed the frenzied stare of her nightmarish eyes at the Eleventh Division Captain. "You sure have more fight in you than the previous time", she remarked with a voice heavy from tranquil fury. "No need to hold back to keep things fun, then." Within the following instant she rose her left arm and aimed her open palm at the Shinigami. Swirling smoke-like darkness accumulated in front of it quickly. " !", she exclaimed as a pitch-black beam of spiritual energy burst forth from her palm. As the explosion from Tinieblas' Cero rocked the battlefield, Fudo was emerging from the explosion Anders had created. Coughing, he had rather severe burn marks on his arms, and the arms of his Shihakshō were no longer in solid form, merely appearing as burnt cloth on the ground. "I'm genuinely surprised to see you take my Heilig Bliz without much injury Captain-san, for that I must commend you. However you are still but an unholy Shinigami, and you shall perish for it.", he preached, Fudo narrowed his eyes as he readied himself for another relentless attack. He immediately reacted to the now glowing sky as numerous arrows rained down upon him, Shōdo used Shunpo to dodge the barrage of arrows, reappearing close to the former Quincy. He made a large stabbing motion, planting his Shikai into the ground. "Tch, you're not escaping my divine light.", Schäfer shouted angrily, he took aim and fired a dozen Heilige Pfeile at Fudo. Surprisingly, the 5th Division Captain didn't dodge, Fudo took the entire force of the attack head on, shocking Schäfer, the Captain smirked as the Quincy looked down to see a crimson red line below him, followed shortly by an eruption of fire, the Quincy scowled as he was swallowed by the ensuing explosion. In the meantime, the sword-fight between Tōru and Takeo was becoming increasingly more intense. The two were locked in a deadly dance of swirling blades, exchanging dozens of slashes, jabs, blocks and parries with each consecutive second. There was a clash, and a shower of sparks. Danko seized the opportunity and struck again, aiming the tip of his tonfa's blade at the opponent's face. Yōshanai leapt to the side, grinning menacingly as the Captain's Zanpakutō left a long but shallow cut on his left cheek. He then turned around and made a broad slash at Takeo within the next instant, marking a vertical line at the Shinigami's exposed chest ere the latter jumped backward to dodge. Danko landed rather heavily on the ground and slid a couple of metres on his feet, rapidly rising his left hand and aiming its palm at the enemy. "Bakudō #4, !" Caught off guard by this fast action, Tōru did not manage to evade the spell, and the crackling rope of yellow light wrapped around his left arm and then torso. "Hadō #11, !", continued the Ninth Division Captain. A single surge of lightning flowed through the binding spell and hit the Togabito, prompting him to utter a short groan of pain. Merely had the rope of light dispersed, he swept his Zanpakutō, stirring a torrential gust of superheated air. Takeo quickly jumped to the side. Then, he widened his eyes as he noticed a blurred silhouette approaching him. Yōshanai collided with him shoulder first, sending him into a fast and violent flight into one of the nearby houses. Danko's momentum was enough for him to break through the wall, demolishing the building as a result. Part 3 He was surrounded by death. Fifth Division Lieutenant Ryū Suijōki was covered in blood and sweat, the top of his Shihakushō torn to shreds. He fought alone against the cloaked Sinners; the members of his squad accompanying him when the battle had started were all dead. Unseated troopers were wiped out. Low seat officers were dying one by one. From what little Suijōki could see in the tumult of battle he noticed that only those who had activated their Shikai were still holding their own against the enemy. He himself had realesed his Zanpakutō, Atsuryoku Nabe, and did not hold back. Right after smashing a Sinner using it in a club-like manner, he pointed its pipes at another opponent, who had just plunged at him. "Jōhatsu!" A powerful stream of corrosive vapour struck the Togabito in mid-air, eradicating him within a matter of seconds. Suijōki panted heavily and looked around. He was not exactly happy to discover that several other Sinners had surrounded him and were approaching him slowly, like predators closing in on their prey. Ryū bared his teeth and squeezed the hilt of his Zanpakutō. "Fushokusei Kiri!", he exclaimed. Then, his weapon unleashed a dense cloud of steam, enveloping all of the incoming enemies. Shortly afterward the Lieutenant heard their groans and curses as their skin, despite being covered by black cloaks, started audibly sizzling. However, that was not the end; he promptly rushed forward and hit one of them, hearing the opponent's bones crack. Using the thick shroud of vapour to conceal his moves, he swiftly struck down the writhing figures. Subsequently, he paused for a few seconds to rest. He dispersed the cloud, unwilling to inadvertently harm any Shinigami who may have stumbled into the area, and then charged toward another centre of fighting. He exerted his senses to find someone familiar in the tempest of Reiatsu the highest-ranking combatants were generating. "Yamashita-kun!", he yelled, anxiously looking around. On the other side of the battlefield, Hatsuharu was facing his opponent, a rather tall, but thin man, his mask looked slightly broken, revealing his amber coloured eyes. The 11th Division Lieutenant gritted his teeth in anger as he further raised his reiatsu. "Did I hit a nerve Lieutenant-san?", the Togabito asked, his voice was calm and to the unwary rather friendly, but his voice had a twinge of sarcasm, changing his question to a mocking jeer. "....", Hatsuharu said nothing, he merely turned back to look at his fallen group, most of which were dead, only a could lucky shinigami came out barely alive, Akihiko was among them, he sported a gigantic wound on his right arm, which was bleeding at an incredible rate. "Don't take your eyes of your opponent, Lieutenant-san.", the Togabito whispered into Yamashita's ear and he brought down his jagged looking blade down onto a shocked Hatsuharu, the Togabito heard his opponent murmur something, and suddenly he was repelled by a small blue orb of light. "Tch, didn't want to use that.", Hatsuharu grunted, he held his sword with two hands, readying himself, surprisingly, his opponent didn't move. "I know a lot about Shinigami, mostly their divisions.", the Togabito said cheerfully, Hatsuharu merely raised an eyebrow in confusion, however he allowed the sinner to continue on. "So I know you're from the 11th Division, due to that armband of yours.", he explained, pointing at Hatsuharu's Lieutenant's badge. "I know the 11th Division's etiquette about battle, how they introduce themselves as a final courtesy.", the Togabito continued on, Hatsurahu merely grimaced, his anger rising. "So?", he finally asked, his voice showed signed of strained anger. "Shall we introduce ourselves? Former lord of Hell and Current Sergeant of Zetsubō Usuguraboshi's army, Odayakana Kurushimeru. "11th Division Lieutenant, Hatsuharu Yamashita.", Hatsuharu muttered, however as soon as he said it, Kurushimeu disappeared, alerted, the Lieutenant turned to see the jagged blade of his opponent being thrust toward him. Ryū rushed toward his ally's position, however he was slowed by the incessant attacks of the enemy Togabito, however he bulldozed past them, using his Shikai's special ability to stall them long enough for him to pass, just as he neared Hatsuharu's battleground he felt an explosion of two high leveled reiatsu, he was taken aback by their sheer power but what startled him the most was that while it was coming from the direction Yamashita and his opponent were fighting, both of the spiritual pressures felt completely foreign to the 5th Division Lieutenant. Fearing for the worst he hurried up and ran towards the source of the two spiritual powers. "Stroke, Ansastu Burēdo.", Hatsuharu stated, the face of the 11th Division Lieutenant had been gravely injured, a massive diagonal cut was painted on his face, starting from above his eyebrows, his left eye was cut and the injury continued past the bridge of the nose to just above the upper lip. Despite his injury however, Hatsuharu had a face of pure determination. Meanwhile, his opponent was in the completely opposite state, he was lightly injured on the shoulder, despite it being a shallow cut, he had an expression of pure shock. "What the hell, I can see that I was cut, but I didn't feel anything!", Odayakana thought to himself. "I see you've realised the effects of Ansastu Burēdo. That's good, given I almost never use it.", Hatsuharu admitted, Kurushimeu broke out of his stupor and looked at him, confused. "There's an unspoken rule in the 11th Division. It is said that every member must have a melee type Zanpakutō.", Hatsuharu explained, "It's considered weak to have a Kidō type Zanpakutō like I do, so naturally I don't use my Shikai much.", he finished. "Tch, enough talk Shinigami-san.", Kurushimeru stated, his voice still had a semblance of calm in it, but he was obviously irritated, he lunged at Hatsuharu, raising his blade to deliver an incredibly strong attack, Hatsuharu lazily lifted his sword horizontally. "That won't work.", he said. As the two blades struck, Odayakana stumbled forward, losing his balance for seemingly no reason, he let his blade easily slide off Hatsuharu's as the Lieutenant made a swift upward sweeping motion, blood closely followed the blade's path upward from his opponent's shoulder. The Togabito spun around anxiously, he examined his shoulder, he had a look of utter shock. "I hit you're blade, I saw it!", he shouted, Kurushimeru started to panic slightly, not fully understanding the forces of Hatsuharu's Shikai. "You saw our blades clash, but you did not feel it I presume?", Hatsuharu asked, it was obvious he was right by the sudden twitch Odayakana made. "My Zanpakuto negates the sense of touch of anything it touches, save me.", Yamashita explained. "Then that means...", Odayakana started. "Yes, you won't be able to feel any injuries my blade makes, nor will you be able to feel our swords clash, to you it will feel as if your shoulder just split open for no reason or you will feel as if your blade went right through mine. You can't touch me.", Yamashita explained. Odayakana's face showed genuine fear as he saw he opponent disappear from sight for a second, the Togabito didn't feel Hatsuharu's sword pierce his heart, however he wondered why he saw blood coming out of his chest, and why he started to stumble. "Goodbye, Lord of Hell.", Hatsuharu said solemnly, lowering his Zanpakuto, he was however, interrupted by manic laughter. "You think, that can kill me? Fool." Yamashita was bewildered as he stumbled backwards, he right arm sported a rather deep cut, he used shunpo to retreat, regaining his stance. "I am a pure Togabito, I am the Lord of my land, I cannot die!", Kurushimeru shouted, his voice echoed across the deserted battlefield, just as he said so Ryū arrived on one of the roofs. "Yamashita-kun!", he shouted, his call got the attention of both combatants. "Ryū! Help Akihiko and the others! Go!", Hatsuharu shouted in response, while slightly taken aback the 5th Division Lieutenant nodded and took off to tend to the injured. "Oh no you don't!", screamed Kurushimeru, he turned to Ryū, raising his blade, however he was interrupted by Hatsuhara, who swung across. In a fruitless attempt to defend himself, Odayakana raised his sword, however he let Hatsuharu's Zanpakutō slide of and hit his mask directly, destroying the lower half of it, causing the Togabito to cry out in pain. In a panic, the Togabito shot away from the Shinigami, cursing to himself. "Damn you Shinigami!", he screamed, he raised his spare hard, charging up a large fireball in his palm. "Die!" Part 4 "Die, die, die!" Tinieblas kept yelling at Kenpachi as she showered him with a barrage of crushing two-handed slashes of her black nodachi. However, with some difficulty, the Captain was able to block all of the attacks, sparks erupting from between the blades each time they collided. Whereas her furious onslaught was not sufficient for her to gain the upper hand in the engagement, she was no longer being forced on the defensive, and succeeded in leaving several small cuts on her enemy's body. Then, Kūfuku attempted to use his polearm's extreme length to his advantage by thrusting it forward, trying to impale his Arrancar opponent without the risk of her striking back. But it did not come to be, as she narrowly evaded the stab thanks to Sonído and countered promptly, firing a single black blast. The spiritual energy projectile exploded on Kenpachi's chest, tearing his Shihakushō and pushing him back slightly. He smirked. "I thought you were a good fight, but you're startin' to disappoint me", he stated with a sardonic grin. Tinieblas bared her teeth in response, growling at him like a mad dog. Streaks of smoke-like energy began emanating from her body, dropping the temperature noticeably. "I'll snap your spine like a stick", she seethed. She plunged at him with an animalistic roar, more like a force of nature than an intelligent being. At the same time, amongst the ruins of civilian houses, Captain Shōdo was struggling against his Quincy opponent. Yet another overcharged arrow was fired in his direction, but he was ready to deflect it. He swung his Zanpakutō, enveloped in spiritual energy, and swept the crackling bolt aside. Then, he immediately countered by launching another large smouldering rock. "Heilig Blitz." The aquamarine arrow struck the incoming projectile, blowing it up into thousands of pieces and creating a big cloud of ash as a result. Suddenly, a blurred silhouette emerged from behind its cover, darting toward the Quincy. Schäfer, taken by surprise, did not have time to react except for slightly widening his eyes. "Ryūūseeeei!" Fudo swiped his sledge-hammer upward, striking Anders in his chin. There was a loud thud, and the Quincy was launched backward with terrible force. He crushed into a nearby building, tore through its walls and ended up demolishing a house behind it. Dust rose into the air. "Y'know, I think I've had enough of your shiny arrows", said Shōdo and spat blood to the side. Meanwhile, Schäfer rose from the debris and brushed off the dust from his white cloak. He looked at his opponent with a stern face expression. "It comes as no surprise that the mere sight of my holy fire is intolerable for your foul eyes", he commented. "Bankai, Ōkina Chikaku Kanetsuro", replied Fudo. Flames erupted promptly from the pipes surrounding the hammer's head, immersing the Shinigami Captain in a wild blaze. The Zanpakutō glowed and grew several times, and a large, heavy backpack with two pipes formed on Shōdo's back. Crimson waves of his Reiatsu engulfed the battlefield. "I must admit, I am impressed!", declared Anders, standing unfazed amongst the raging inferno. "Your spiritual power, while tainted, is truly enormous!" Subsequently, he smiled, a rather unnerving sight considering his near-constant sobriety. "As you probably know, however, Quincy have their own means of achieving such power", he continued ominously. In the meantime, the blaze of Fudo's Reiatsu reached Takeo and Tōru, who rapidly disengaged and stood a moderate distance away from each other, panting heavily. "Hey, that's nice!", remarked Yōshanai. "Seems your friend's gonna fight for real know! How about you, then? You haven't been putting up that much of a fight until now." Danko grimaced. "Bankai, Sekai Shadanki." A swirl of yellow spiritual energy enveloped his right arm. Armoured plates appeared on it one after another, and his Zanpakutō increased and formed an auxiliary blade. A pad on the Captain's right shoulder morhped into a part of a curved collar, whilst a triangular shield materialised from the spiritual energy twisting around his left hand. The sudden outburst of Reiatsu hit Tōru like a shockwave, pushing him back half a metre. "Oh yeah, that's it! Show us what you've got!", he yelled in crazed excitement. "Tinieblas-chan, the time's come!" The giant woman jumped backward, once again overpowered by her enemy. She squeezed the hilt of her longsword to the point it made a drawn-out, metallic sound. "Yes", she replied in a dark voice. "You know why I was never promoted to Captain?", Yōshanai asked Takeo abruptly in a conversational tone. "Because I murderded thousands of people!", he finished with a wide grin and a casual shrug, as if he had just told a good joke. Afterward, Schäfer took off a black glove he had worn on his right palm. "Bardiel", he declared solemnly. The air around him started undulating and then, without a warning, a sizeable area around him was instantly disintegrated into a cloud of spiritual particles which accumulated on his body. Now levitating above a large crater, he sported a modified uniform, high collar, a peculiarly shaped halo hovering over his head and two pairs of wings, one vast and spreading, and the other one vestigial and reversed. The wings were black. "Even though fallen, I am still an angel in the service of God", he stated. Yōshanai laughed maniacally. "Oh, I've been looking forward to this", he said. "Bankai, Kajiarashi!" As he held his Zanpakutō two-handed, diagonally pointed toward Captain Danko, dark crimson flames erupted from the sides of the blade. With a loud roar they began twisting and writhing, rapidly surrounding the Togabito with a tempest of raging fire that consumed the ruins around him and cut off Takeo from the rest of the battlefield. "Never been to Hell? No problem, I've brought it with me!", he exclaimed and started laughing again. At the same time, Tinieblas fixed her death stare at the seemingly relaxed Kenpachi. "Plunge down into the spiral of madness, Legióóón!", she bellowed. Darkness itself emanated from her body, enveloping both her and her enemy. Pressed by the mass of her tremendous spiritual power, Kūfuku witnessed as she grew several metres in height. Her skin turned ebony black, and her triple-mask covered her etire face. Her arms split into a number of long tentacles, writhing madly and lashing the air like whips. Then, she let out an inhuman roar. "It is time to put an end to this farce, Captain Shōdo-san", declared Anders. "Hagelfeuer." A volley of empowered bolts burst forth from the barrel of his enhanced crossbow. "Gōka Mekkyaku!", countered Fudo. A huge triangular fireball and the barrage of 108 supercharged arrows collided en route toward their targets, causing an immense explosion, shaking the ground perceptibly. "Raikiri!", shouted Takeo Danko. "Fushichō no Tsubasa!", replied Tōru. Then, the focused beam of energy fired by the Ninth Division Captain met with the rapidly rising wall of tempestuous flame. Meanwhile, bunches of pitch black Bala were accumulating at the tips of Tinieblas' tentacles, each of them aimed at Kenpachi. "Oh, well", grumbled the Captain before being caught in the subsequent explosion. Part 5 The composite explosions from all 3 battles caused the area to shudder in fear, Odayakana Kurushimeru looked toward the epicentre of the explosions. "Tch, the only reason they beat me was because of their un-pure abilities, they're scum without them.", he seethed as he turned to the now struggling Yamashita, chuckling slightly in doing so. "You're not so high n' mighty when I'm actually trying to kill you, are you Shinigami-san.", he said politely. Yamashita didn't reply, instead he lifted his arm and shot a unnamed Shakkahō at Odayakana. "That tiny piece of shit won't even touch me Shinigami!", he shouted, the Togabito charged up a massive fireball and threw it at Hatsuharu's notably smaller Shakkahō. The two balls of fire flashed briefly, then the massive ball of fire litterally absorbed the Shakkahō, it flew to the floor, causing a massive explosion to completely block out the 11th Division Lieutenant. Kurushimeru laughed manically, not noticing he had be slashed the back until Yamashita's sword left his body. "Don't count out the 2nd most powerful member of our combat Division, Kurushimeru-san.", Hatsuharu whispered softly, he bore a large grin on his face. "Happy Shinigami-san?", Odayakana asked, however he was interrupted by feeling a blade run through him. "Certainly looks like it, doesn't it Yamashita-kun.", Ryū said, his Zanpakutō impaling the Togabito. "I'm guessing Akihiko is fine?", Hatsuharu asked, Ryū replied with a silent nod, the former's grin widened at seeing his allies gesture. "Good, now I can fight without worry!", he shouted in an almost manic manner, he took a wide slash at the Togabito's chest, causing him to wonder why his body felt so heavy for a brief moment. "Shit.", he murmured, he disappeared from both Ryū's and Yamashita's sight, reappearing on the ground not far from where the fight started. "I, the Lord of Hell, shall not lose to some wretched pawns!", he screamed, he started to writhe around, muttering inaudibly, he finally raised his head, screaming at the top of his voice. "Die! Hinotama Oni! He raised both of his hands, causing a massive ball of fire to erupt from the Togabito, who was now glowing with red reiatsu, the density of it was causing the two Lieutenants to buckle slightly under it. "Now incinerate, you two un-pure pests!", he shouted, he threw the fire at them, laughing insanely as the entire area was engulfed in flames. Suijōki, having had re-sealed his Zanpakutō while taking care of the wounded 11th Division members, had no other idea how to deal with the incoming wall of death but to run. He used Shunpo to get out of its way. Whereas he did escape the brunt of the attack, he was not fast enough to outrun all of the flames and was swept away by the tempest of flames, disappearing somewhere among the clouds of dust and omnipresent ruins. Fire. Captain Danko was ducking, dodging and leaping to the sides as tendrils of incinerating flames were striking at him one after another. The dark crimson inferno of Yōshanai's fire seemed to burn the entire world around him, obscuring nearly everything else from sight. The stone pavement under his feet was cracking due to the intense heat. "What's wrong, Captain-san? It seems as if you couldn't keep up!", jeered Tōru from amongst the blaze. Takeo halted for a while, panting heavily, his Shihakushō and skin covered with sweat and burns. Then, as the swirl of fire darted toward him once again, he slanted to the side and rebounded with great force. He passed by the enemy's attack and pointed his Zanpakutō at his surprised face. Suddenly, a wall of flames rose in his path. However, Danko's Bankai was enveloped by yellow Reiatsu and pierced the impromptu defence within a matter of seconds. "Seimitsu Kōgeki!" The tip of the giant tonfa's blade struck Yōshanai's fiery sword and released its immense power in a shockwave-like fashion. The Togabito was brutally launched backward, and then he crushed into the debris of battlefield with considerable force. The blaze surrounding Danko receded slightly, but did not disappear. "It seems you've got some fight in you, Cap'n", he heard his opponent's disembodied voice. "But you're far too dull for my tastes." All of a sudden, a dark silhouette emerged fast from the rapidly intensified inferno, almost catching the Ninth Division commander off-guard. Takeo lifted the shield on his left forearm in a hasty effort to protect himself. "Tachiagari Fushichō!", yelled Tōru with fervour as he swiped upward with his burning blade. Within the following instant flames literally exploded from his Zanpakutō, engulfing Danko in a violently expanding tempest of dark crimson. For a while, he remained visible among the flames. Soon, his uniform and skin were incinerated, his bones turned to cinders and then scattered into ashes. The tempestuous flames rose high and assumed the form of a giant bird with spreading wings before dispersing. Captain Shōdo, despite the intensity of his duel which had left his body singed and covered in blood, turned abruptly in the direction of Yōshanai's blaze. Takeo Danko's Reiatsu was completely gone. "Takeo-kun! No!", he yelled at the top of his lungs. "I'll fucking kill you all!" "Pardon my interruption", said Schäfer. "What!?", bellowed Fudo, abruptly turning his head to look at the Quincy. Unexpectedly, he felt as if a part of him was torn off and taken away. With sudden astonishment, he observed as his Reiatsu dropped drastically, and the form of his giant Bankai was stripped away and sucked into a round object held by his enemy. "Our duel has been an enjoyable experience, but my colleague's action served as a signal to "wrap things up"", remarked Anders with a barely visible smirk. "Auf Wiedersehen, Captain Fudo Shōdo-san." Acting on an impulse, the Fifth Division leader made a sweeping motion with his Shikai. "Kanzandaaan!" A large block of burning ashes burst forth in the direction of the composed Quincy, who merely lifted the arm donning his ornate crossbow. "Hagelfeuer." Then, a shower of devastating light erupted from the weapon's barrel. The smouldering rock and Shōdo himself vanished in its bedazzling shine, followed by an earth-shaking staccato of explosions. When his spiritual signature disappeared, Kenpachi was struck by one of Tinieblas' writhing tentacles. The sheer force of the hit crashed him into the ground, making him carve a long ditch in the pavement. The Arrancar uttered a low-pitched, reverberating sound vaguely reminescent of laughter. "Your pathetic power couldn't hold a candle to me 12 years ago, no matter what you do next, you are dead.", Tinieblas grumbled, Kenpachi stood up, looking uncharacteristically serine. "I know.", the Kenpachi uttered, his response caused more unearthly laughter from his opponent, she stopped to look at the 11th Division Captain, who had regained his stance. "However, to do anything less than going all out would be insulting to my subordinates, superiors and comrades.", Kuufuku stated proudly, raising his bankai, pointing it at Tinieblas, who merely waited. "Kenpachi Kuufuku, Captain of the 11th Division.", he shouted, just as he did, Tinieblas charged at him, they exchanged shockwave inducing blows, the Earth rumbling as they fought. As they battled, the Arrancar felt Kuufuku's reiatsu get stronger, pushing her back ever so slightly, she also noticed something different in his fighting style, when she fought him 12 years ago, he was fighting as if he was just doing something boring and even a little while ago, he was just taking her attacks. However as they fought now, he looked like he was concentrating and fighting seriously. "Oreya!", Kenpachi shouted as he managed to throw Tinieblas over his shoulder, he slashed at the arrancar as she was in the air, causing a fairly deep cut to appear in her shoulder. Exhausted and sweating, Kuufuku knelt down due to him exerting all of his reiatsu to try and beat his opponent, however he looked up to see Tinieblas writhing around, she started to mutter incomprehensibly before lifting her hand to point at the Kenpachi, her tentacles mirroring the action. Kuufuku's eyes widened slightly as a ball of pitch blackness started to form, a dark purple outline surrounding it, as it fully formed, tendrils of black energy started to emerge from it. "Cero Osculas!", Tinieblas screamed, however her voice was drowned out due to the deafening sound of the Cero, as it approached Kenpachi his eyes narrowed slightly as he was engulfed in darkness, the last smear of his reiatsu swallowed up by the ultimate Cero. In the now smoldering crater where Hatsuharu and Ryū were fighting, the 11th Division Lieutenant lay on the floor, truly defeated, his opponent had left, assuming the two Lieutenants dead. While unable to move, Yamashita sensed the reiatsu signatures of Captain's Danko and Shōdo fade away, he looked at the also fallen Ryū, who had fell unconscious, just as he did he felt the final Captain, his Captain fall in battle. "Captain.", Hatsuharu mumbled, he finally passed out, he, the 5th Division Lieutenant and the 11th Division 3rd Seat was seemingly all that was left alive in the battlefield, their groups along with the other group met the same fate as their Captains. The battle was over, and the Shinigami had lost. The four Togabito leaders assembled unhurriedly in the middle of the razed square, final forms of those who had unleashed them dissipating into streaks of gaseous energy. The rank and file Sinners were emerging from amongst the bodies and smoke, one by one, and gathered nearby the commanders. All of the troops were injured to some extent, and no more than two dozen of them survived the fight. "Oooh, it's taking so long", complained Yōshanai as he cleared a streak of blood from his left cheek. "I heard that old prick packs a punch", remarked Tinieblas. "I am completely certain that Lord Bane shall return shortly", stated Anders. Odayakana refused to contribute to the disturbingly casual conversation, standing with his arms folded across his chest and glancing at the rest with a grim expression on his face. Nevertheless, they did not have to wait for long. Suddenly, not that far away from the Togabito, a swirl of darkness erupted virtually out of the blue. It accumulated into a sizeable cloud before dispersing, revealing two silhouettes; one standing and one kneeling. The streaks of blackness were sucked in by the spiky scythe wielded by Zetsubō Usuguraiboshi, who regarded the fallen Captain-Commander from behind his ivory white mask. "Gaze upon this battlefield. Does it remind you of something?", he asked in a sinister tone. "Yes. That you're a monster", replied Yamamoto before spitting blood to the side. Zetsubō's black cloak was gone, so his entire torso was clearly visible. Sickly pale and covered with an intricate network of old scars, it bore numerous new wounds and burn marks. On the other hand, the Captain-Commander's Shihakushō was virtually torn apart and covered in stains of blood. He held his now sealed Zanpakutō in the right hand, but remained nearly motionless. His left arm was gone. "You stopped me 1000 years ago, but this time I've won. The time to restore balance has come", declared Usuguraiboshi. Yamamoto sniggered. "I'm very old, and I've done more than enough already. Remember I'm not the only obstacle on your path to victory", he retorted. "You'll soon realise that you've bit more than you can chew, boy." "Enough." Zetsubō approached him with two long steps and lifted his scythe, all that time observed by the other Togabito. Shigekuni glanced to the side, and his stare met that of Tōru Yōshanai's. The red-headed Sinner grinned maliciously and waved his hand. Yamamoto smirked in response. "I'll be waiting for you in Hell", he announced. "Farewell, Shigekuni Yamamoto", said Usuguraiboshi as he made a broad slash with his scythe. Death came swiftly. Part 6 . Sixth Division Barracks. Evening. The scarlet sun began its descent toward the horizon, akin to the twilight of the Gotei 13 itself. Somewhere in the gardens of the Sixth Division Barracks, surrounded by flowers and the chirp of birds, three of the remaining Captains and several Lieutenants were discussing the recent developments after a very busy day. Haruka Mewokuramasu fixed her gaze onto an ornate fountain. Her face was nigh emotionless and pale, as the last tears had flown some time ago. "I cannot accept it", she stated bluntly. "I cannot believe it", added her Lieutenant, Daiki Ueno. "I... they... all the Captains... the Divisions devastated..." "The death of Captain-Commander Yamamoto is the most confounding factor", remarked Seventh Division Lieutenant Kyoshi Seppen in an unusually matter-of-fact tone. "I was certain that by challenging him the enemies had signed their own death warrant", he continued as his adjusted his glasses. "We've found the Captain-Commander's... body", said Lieutenant Kana Enodoriko, her face expression virtually emanating sorrow. "But not a trace of the others. Maybe... maybe they've been taken as prisoners of war?" Seppen shook his head. "Not a chance. Lieutenant Yamashita-san witnessed their deaths. They have been all confirmed as killed in action." His statement caused Enodoriko to cover up her face. She walked to the side and started sobbing quietly. Kyoshi raised his eyebrows, and then his indifference was replaced by embarassment. "Uhh..." He had been interrupted before he could continue as Captain Mewokuramasu's stood up abruptly. Captain Sakamoto Risa looked at her anxiously. "We cannot leave it like this. We must find those Sinners", declared Haruka with atypical harshness. "They must pay for what they...", she did not finish. She glanced at Captain Tarō Kinzoku, who sat on a bench opposite to most of the officers present. Despite being on the site of the battlefield with the entire Third Division, he had not spoken a single word to his colleagues. He was just sitting there, motionless and with flexed muscles resembling a statue chiseled in granite. He was looking absent-mindedly in no particular direction, but there was something very unnerving to his intense yet unfocused gaze. Haruka noticed he was clenching his fists, so much that little streaks of blood were flowing from among the fingers. "Captain?", asked Lieutenant Enodoriko with uncertainty, swiping the tears from her face. "Takeo Danko", uttered Kinzoku in response, the tone of his voice immediately drawing the attention of everyone present. "We'd known each other before we joined the Academy. We'd graduated from the same class and even served in the same Division for many years. He was more than a colleague, he was my true comrade." The other Shinigami looked at him in utter silence. "Kenpachi Kūfuku. I once strived to be like him, but I wasn't good enough. I challenged him to a sparing session and lost. So, we then arranged another one, and the next. We've been training together since decades, and he's helped me improve my swordmsmanship skills to a completely new level." Veins started bulging out from his strained muscles of the exposed arms and on the temples. "Fudo Shōdo. He knew I was always avoiding company and must've thought I was lonely. So, he invited me to his house, and I came. I ate the pie his wife made for me, talked with him about the good ol' times, and played with his children. He invited me again, and I came again. He kept inviting me, and I always accepted. But he won't invite me ever again." He stood up abruptly, startling Mewokuramasu, and to some extent everyone else. "I should've gone there instead of him. But I didn't, and now he's never coming back to his wife and children." A period of extremely tense silence followed. The other officers were observing Tarō as he was struggling to contain his unspeakable fury, his arms trembling. Then, he turned his head to the side. "Kana." "Yes, Captain?", she asked, her voice faltering due to visible fear. "We're going to the barracks. We must assemble the troops", he stated sternly. The Lieutenant nodded in response. Right afterward the two disappeared with the faint sound of Shunpo. Another moment of quiet. "Well, I almost feel sorry for them", remarked Seppen. "For whom?", asked Lieutant Ueno, confused. "The Sinners", explained Kyoshi with a very slight smirk. Suddenly, there was a drastic, if invisible change. "What... what is that?", said Daiki in shock. "I suppose this is a Reiatsu", replied Seppen. "It is monstrous", said Haruka in a tense tone. "But Yamamoto-dono is gone... yet, it feels somehow familiar..." "It's not him", stated Captain Risa as she stood up. Then, there was a thunderous sound of an explosion from afar. All of the Shinigami swayed as the earth shook violently. "We've been attacked!", exclaimed Sakamoto. "Come with us!", Haruka addressed the two Lieutanants. With great haste they used Shunpo to leave the garden and travel to the streets of Seireitei. There was an ominous clamour rising slowly in the background. Both civilians and Shinigami soldiers were running in various directions. Suddenly, there was another explosion, much weaker than the first one, but still powerful. And another one a considerable distance away from either. "It seems the enemy has broken through the ", said Seppen. "They are inside", stated Ueno, distressed. "Pardon me, but I must go", announced Kyoshi with a deep, formal bow. "I have a Division to command." He vanished within the next instant. "You should go too, Sakamoto", said Haruka. Whereas the incredibly massive Reiatsu from before was gone, another one, smaller yet still enormous, started approaching the three remaining officers. There was some metallic clangs from a distance, followed by several screams of anguish. "I guess my Division will be fine for a moment", replied Risa, drawing her Zanpakutō. The other two Shinigami quickly followed suit, ready to intercept the incoming enemy. A shadow darkened the already black cloud of smoke in front of the trio, outlining the form of a Shinigami moments before he fell out of the haze on his back. His body was untouched by wounds, instead his neck had been brutally assaulted, contorting in unnatural ways as if it was trying to snake from left to right, bruises on either side marked the impact zones, the imprint of knuckles in the skin spoke of the power of the attacker on the physical level. Slow and lumbering, another form emerged from the ever dark fog. Obviously a Togabito, adorning a white oval mask and black robe like its comrades, its attire only lightly set it apart from the others as unique with features such as a hood and painted blue dots beneath the eye of the mask. The robe had been flung open, flowing behind like a cape revealing the creature's gangly form. Most every bone, every muscle, could be seen from beneath its clear white skin, perfectly defined as they were. What it adorned below the robe consisted of a simple mix of body glove and lamellar plates. Protecting the modesty of her female form and providing protection at the same time. Most unusually were the large bones protruding from the ends of her elbows and knees. She stepped forward, stopping aside the Shinigami with the ruined neck. To her surprise the Shinigami was alive, struggling to breath as guttural and broken sounds emanated from his mangled throat. Never looking at the three before her, the Togabito nonetheless addressed them. "This is the best way", staring at the choking Shinigami she knew he wouldn't last long, though she had hoped to end it quicker. "The bodies of Shinigami can withstand an unbelievable amount of punishment, but remove the head, and they fall, instantly, without having to suffer", she explained as if those around her wouldn't know the weaknesses and strengths inherent in their spiritual forms. "I fear I was sloppy with this one, allow me to remedy it", her food rose, plodding at a pace that was almost stupidly slow. Drops of dust fell from its form when it at last dangled above the head of the poor man. And then it fell. Like a hammer firing down on the barrel of a gun, her foot moved at an explosively quick pace, not an instant passed before a crunch echoed through out the area followed immediately by the explosive sound of rock being destroyed. The guttural cries stopped then, the floor awash with red around the Togabito. Sakamoto narrowed her eyes as she raised her zanpakutō in response to the Togabito's actions. "May the waves come forth, Fushutsu!", she exclaimed, her blade became serrated and two spiked protrusions appeared on it's tip, she wore an expression of restrained anger, however she kept an air of control, staying collected enough to hold back her urge to fight. "Ueno-kun, retreat immediately", said Mewokuramasu firmly. "But..." "Now!", she shouted, prompting him to become silent. "You will mobilise our troops and attempt to repel the enemy. This is an order." "Yes, Captain", he replied with a quick nod, and then disappeared using Shunpo. Haruka turned back to the giant Togabito, holding her sword in a defensive stance. "You will not pass any farther", stated Mewokuramasu in a stern tone. "Coruscate, Tamashī Kagami." A single flash travelled the length of the edge of her Zanpakutō, which subsequently transformed into a broadsword with a glass blade. Her left arm raised, the hand of the opposite arm grabbing the protruding bone. Her grip tightened while the skin visibly stretched when she started to pull. There was an audible scrap, the bone had started to move, slowly being ejected from the arm. Disconcertingly, the muscles in the arm shifted out of, or perhaps in to, place. The short body display ended with a sharp spurt of blood to reveal the removed bone edged by an unusually clean blade on its end. She took two steps forward, returning the sloth-like motions she had before killing the Shinigami. "You honour one as lowly as I with such weapons", her deep voice carried a tone of obvious sincerity, though such a straight laced answer could still be taken as sarcasm. "I regret that I will have to mar that kidness", there was a shockwave, the dust lying across the walls and stone roads of the Seireitei streets jumped into the air forming a cloud that encapsulated much of the area. Kerai had taken to the air, roaring right past the Captains that had set out to impede her. The speed with which she moved kept her obscured to the naked eye, only the sensing of spiritual pressure could keep her from being truly undetectable. She burst into visibility with a sideways roll, her hand and feet clenched onto the air somehow skidding across it. Her right hand flipped the bone in her grasp to a reverse grip before she launched the impromptu sword like a javelin right at Daiki. The blade cut through the air with such audible force that it almost appeared a warhead was being fired at the Lieutenant. Haruka was initially taken off-guard by the Sinner's abrupt action. However, this lasted only for a fraction of a second. During the decade following Hikari Maebure's invasion on Seireitei she had been honing her fighting skills constantly, and achieved satisfactory results. Consequently, she turned around swiftly and made a sweeping motion with her Zanpakutō as she was lifting her free left hand outstretched, its palm aimed at the projectile. A pane of glass materialised in front of her. " !", she exclaimed. The blue flame was discharged from her hand and passed smoothly through the sheet of glass, expanding its size in the process. Then it darted toward the javelin-like bone, on a collision course calculated to intersect in a relatively safe distance from the retreating Lieutenant. All within a matter of seconds. Kerai noted the reaction time of her foe before proceeding to intercept the oncoming attack. Her posture changed, many of her bones clicking as she did, and then shot off like a bullet to the oncoming orb of blue flames. Another shockwave belted across the sky a moment after she'd left her place. Appearing between the sword-bone and the Kidō spell, Kerai made good on an interception by using her body as a shield, wrapping her limbs around the blue fire just before it touched the flesh of her stomach. Light and fire escaped every little gap along Kerai's cage of skin, to the side and front, but not to the back. Her projectile continued on its path undisturbed while Kerai fell a short distance before regaining composure. She kneeled in the air, taking a moment to assess the sizzling burns that marked her. Some of the damage had been mitigated by her natural defense, even more so by the armour she wore, but the spells augmentations were ripe across her bared parts. Blackened with burns and raising pillars of smoke like little cries for help. "The rest of your division does not have to die needlessly, just let me shoot him down", Her voice rose to meet the distance between herself and the Captains below, but otherwise remained calm and indifferent to the situation. In contrast to her demand, her hands had gripped the bones striking out from her knees in a repeat of the process from before though the display was a hint more brutal when the sound of her yanking them from her body began to echo sickeningly. The noise of the commotion stirred up behind him saved Ueno's life. By the simple fact he halted and turned back, the projectile, which had been adjusted to match his speed and strike him on the move, darted ahead instead. Nonetheless, the Lieutenant leapt to the side, acting on instinct. The javelin hit the ground a distance away, causing a powerful tremor and punching a sizeable crater in the pavement. The moment it was over Daiki stood up and charged ahead again at full speed. "Kyōdaina Nami!", Sakamoto shouted, she stabbed the ground with her sword, then in quick succession she spun around on her heel, slashing the ground where she stabbed the ground, she then retreated from the area, slightly confusing the Togabito. After a couple of seconds, the ground started to rumble, from the ground a torrent of water erupted, creating a massive pillar of water, then a diagonal burst of water came forth from the slash in the ground, causing the initial torrent of water to collapse and make an incredibly large wave. The wall of water approached Kerai at a surprisingly fast pace. "Tatakiwaru, Tamashī Kagami!", exclaimed Haruka simultaneously. At the same time her friend's technique launched itself toward their opponent, several panes of glass materialised in the air from Mewokuramasu's Reiatsu and shattered immediately. Then, within the subsequent instant the numerous shards scattered and burst forth, together with the blast of water enclosing the Togabito in an omnidirectional volley of attacks. She had wanted to continue her pursuit, to make good on her words, but she should have expected more from her opponents. She was surrounded, glass and water in most every direction. But that was its own solution. Kerai moved just enough to ensure the water hit her first. The collision was strong, the Togabito looked to have been consumed by the flow until the veins through out her body bulged and her muscles clenched. She punched through the water with her entire form, remaining unaffected as it pulled at and past her. Blades of glass were raining everywhere but the water acted as a cushion, dampening the blows so that they did little to the already durable Togabito. Her head raised in an attempt to estimate when the glass would stop only for one unlikely shard to drop into the water at that very moment. It did no real damage, instead embedding itself in her mask. With that realization Kerai changed. There was a rash movement in swatting the glass away, covering the cracks in the mask as quickly as possible. She frantically made sure that the cracks were nothing more than superficial before attempting to calm down. When the last of the water subsided she moved. Out of nowhere a single sword-bone had been fired at the 13th Division Captain carrying all the speed of a master of Shunpo, and all the strength necessary to punch holes in the most durable of spiritual bodies. Meanwhile the freakishly tall woman had imposed her presence on the Captain of the Sixth. Her eyes narrows in observation, and what was once calm and subdued was a now volatile and screeching reiatsu. As close as she needed to be, the Togabito swung an arm at the Captain, outstretched fingers more than capable of gripping the poor Captain's entire head in their grip attempted to do just that. Seeing the impending attack, Risa thrust her zanpakutō into the ground in a futile attempt to stop it, however the bone out-sped her defence and promptly struck her in the left shoulder, forcing her backwards, as she did, water started to erupt from the ground where her Zanpakutō was, slowly flooding the battlefield. As she stopped she pulled out the sword, thanking her luck that it didn't hit her anywhere else. "She is tough, but her attack has made it easier for us.", Sakamoto whispered, dropping the sword bone she let her left arm go limp before raising her Zanpakutō with the other. "Bankai, Funshutsu no Doragon.", Sakamoto shouted, both the Togabito and the 6th Division Captain turned to see a massive dragon made entirely of water emerge from the flooded battlefield, moving her hand towards them, the dragon swiftly charged in the direction of Kerai. Acting on instinct, Haruka immobilised the Sinner with six spiritual bands of light yellow colour. They slammed into the enemy's midsection, stopping her centimetres from grasping the Sixth Division Captain's face. The Shinigami retreated immediately afterward. "Bakudō #61, ", she declared to reinforce the non-verbal binding spell. At the same time, the water dragon of Risa's Bankai passed swiftly by Mewokuramasu and rushed toward the Togabito woman. She froze in place when the spell took effect, though that didn't keep her from attemtping to break free on other fronts. An aura of sleek blue began to permeate the area around the Togabito, her spiritual pressure exploded in an attempt to overpower the spell holding her in place. It appeared to be too late, the massive serpentine dragon engulfing her form in its liquid jaws. She was obscured from view for the most part, a black silhouette in amongst the deep and dark blue of the dragon's form. The silhouette then faded into the blue, she had disappeared. Her unbridled spiritual pressure gave her away moments later, having appeared behind Captain Sakamoto. Her arms were mangled and flattened as if the muscle and bone within had been destroyed and then disintegrated. They flopped from either side grotesquely, lacking any kind of support afforded by a skeletal structure. Her leg raised with mechanical precision before launching a kick aimed at the side of the Captain's ribs, carrying strength enough to cause them to explode, if it hit. The attack was continued on the spiritual, as well as the physical, level. Kerai's spiritual pressure had become truly malevolent, trying to choke and smother the life from the Captain closest to her. Then, something happened. Captain Mewokuramasu attempted to warn her friend, only to notice the imposing figure of the Sinner had disappeared. She heard a rumble and saw a distant building collapse. She glanced back at the equally perplexed Sakamoto and realised there was someone standing beside her. "Dayum, she's one scary bitch, ain't she?", the newcomer remarked with his palms placed on his hips. A tall, dark-skinned man with short curly hair of black colour. He wore a black vest, white undershirt and black shorts, and over it a haori reminescent of a Captain's. However, there was an emblem placed between the man's shoulder, unmistakeable for anything else. "By the way, I'm Ayumu Nakahara of the Royal Guard", he introduced himself with a wide smile, now facing the two Captains. "Nice to meet ya." Despite her best attempts to stay calm, Sakamoto jumped back in shock, she sealed her Zanpakutō before attempting to talk. "Royal Guard?", she asked, perplexed, she was still on edge and one of the Soul King's guardsmen suddenly appearing next to her didn't help her in the slightest. "That's what I said isn't it.", he replied jovially, chuckling at the 13th Division Captain's disconcerted question. "If you're here then that means.", Haruka started, however before she could finish Nakahara confirmed her question. "Yes.", he said, his voice still had an air of lightheartedness, but he sounded a little solemn in response, noticing his slight change in mood, the two Captains exchanged uneasy looks as he returned to his typical upbeat mood. Kerai sat against a wall behind the house that had collapsed. The force of the blow that struck her not only destroyed the building she hit, but shot her straight through it. Despite the wounds now covering her body, the most obvious of which being the large protrusion of wood sticking out of her stomach, the Togabito seemed calm. Her oppressive and violent spiritual pressure had calmed down. She ascended from the ground, using the wall for support as her legs pushed from beneath. Her cloak flowed out to obscure her form before a series of sickening cracks and squelches began to emanate from her. When they stopped, Kerai drew her hands, now entirely reconstituted from her cloak to remove the wood from her body. She ignored the bleeding wound. She even ignored the Shinigami. The wall that had supported her crumbled when she moved, her speed once again leaving behind a wave of force to scatter around. Nakahara had observed her manoeuvre, and then nodded. "I've figured she'd do that", he said and shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, those bad guys've made quite a hassle. Katashi-san told me to bring you back to the Sixth Division Barracks. For regroupment, or somethin'", he added, addressing the two Captains. Haruka approached Sakamoto, sealing her Zanpakutō in the meantime. Still shocked due to the amount of intense events taking place within the last few days, and more immediately by the Royal Guard's abrupt arrival, they looked with widened eyes at the Seireitei. Vast clouds of smoke and dust were rising from various places, many of the taller buildings now nowhere in sight. There were large blazes raging in a few districts, and the collective Reiatsu of Gotei 13 members was in a state of utter turmoil. "We shall go with you, Ayumu Nakahara-dono", stated Mewokuramasu, with Risa confirming that with a nod of her head. "Oh, please don't be so formal", replied the Royal Guardsman, shaking his head. "Just call me Ayumu or somethin'. Anyhow, let's go, most other officers're already waiting fer us." Then, the Shinigami moved toward the Sixth Division Barracks, leaving the devastated scenery behind. Part 7 . Zetsubō Usuguraiboshi was sitting on a large, skeletal throne, slanted and with his elbows supported on his knees. He was inside a rather spacious cave, with few sources of light and a single entrance. Then, his officers came in, all of them wearing their cloaks and with hoods and masks concealing their faces. "We have succeeded, Lord Bane", announced Anders Schäfer. "I have eliminated the , as you requested." "And Royal Guard's come to join the party", added Tōru Yōshanai. Zetsubō nodded slowly. "The second phase's complete. Our benefactor wants us to stay put for now", he said and stood up. He walked toward the Togabito officers, who promptly got out of his way. "Where are you going?", asked Tōru. "He won't mind a little scouting", he replied as he was passing by. "When will we get to know him?", Tinieblas' voice expressed as much curiosity as it did irritation. Usuguraiboshi halted abruptly in the hole leading into the cavern, slightly startling the giant Arrancar. "Soon enough", he whispered before vanishing. End of Chapter Category:Roleplay